Sega, Gearbox say Aliens 'false advertising' lawsuit is meritless

Plaintiff argues game demos weren’t accurate representations of the final product

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Sega and Gearbox have said a class action lawsuit alleging Aliens: Colonial Marines was falsely advertised is without merit. The suit was filed in the Northern District of California court by law firm Edelson LLC on behalf of Damion Perrine, Polygon reports.

Citing multiple California civil and business codes, the plaintiff claims Sega and Gearbox falsely advertised the game by showing off demos at events like PAX and E3 which weren’t accurate representations of the final product. The plaintiff is seeking damages for consumers who purchased the game before the discrepancies between the demos and the released product were publicly known.

Responding to the lawsuit, Sega told Kotaku: “Sega cannot comment on specifics of ongoing litigation, but we are confident that the lawsuit is without merit and we will defend it vigorously.” Gearbox also said: "Attempting to wring a class action lawsuit out of a demonstration is beyond meritless. We continue to support the game, and will defend the rights of entertainers to share their works-in-progress without fear of frivolous litigation."

Last month, Sega acknowledged complaints sent to the UK’s Advertising Standing Authority regarding ‘misleading’ Aliens: Colonial Marines adverts. The company agreed to include disclaimers on its website and in all relevant YouTube videos explaining that the trailers depict footage of demo versions of the title. Shortly after, Sega confirmed that a Wii U version of Aliens: Colonial Marines had been cancelled.